by Alice Raine
‘I’ve never seen him like this before,’ she murmured, her clever eyes settling on mine with a weight that I immediately understood – she was worried I might just be having fun and wasn’t in this for the long haul. He was loaded, famous, and I was significantly younger, so I could understand her concerns. Smiling happily, I immediately tried to put her mind at ease.
‘I’m sure with his money and career you might be a little worried about my intentions toward Sean, but let me just say it straight, I’m …’ Pausing, I wondered if I could just declare that I loved him. That might be a touch over the top for the first meeting with his mother, so I dulled it down slightly. ‘Well, I’m very serious about your son. I want to be with him. Not the actor, not the money, but him.’
Sophie smiled, a soft, affectionate expression that went all the way to her pale blue eyes. ‘I can see that. The way you two look at each other takes me right back to how I felt when I first met Richard,’ she murmured dreamily.
Leaning forward, she took hold of my hand and nodded. ‘Sean has been so withdrawn for years, it’s truly wonderful to see him so happy.’
Sean reappeared in the doorway with a bottle in his hand and paused as he took in the hold his mother had on my hand. ‘I hope you’re not making a move on my girl, Mother,’ he remarked playfully, causing both myself and Sophie to chuckle and pull apart.
Excusing myself, I left them alone and nipped to the toilet to freshen up and reapply some sun cream. On my return, I paused just inside the lounge when I heard Sean’s mother’s voice drift in on the breeze.
‘She’s perfect, Sean. So sweet! I love her,’ Sophie gushed, and I felt my cheeks heat in response. There seemed to be a slightly heavy silence out on the balcony and then Sean spoke again.
‘Me too, Mum.’
The gasp from Sophie was loud, and followed by a sniffle that sounded distinctly like crying. ‘My boy’s in love?’
‘Yep, well and truly. She’s the one, Mum.’ A huge lump of emotion formed in my throat. I knew Sean loved me, but hearing him confess it to his mother was quite monumental. There was now silence on the deck, broken only by muffled noises and sniffles, so I peeked around the corner and saw them in a very touching mother/son embrace.
Deciding to give them a few extra minutes alone together, I snuck back through the apartment to the kitchen. As I filled a jug with ice and cool water, I couldn’t help but grin at how well the last few hours had gone.
Sean was happy and relaxed, his mum definitely seemed to like me, and she might be able to help me progress my writing career. All in all, it had been a pretty awesome day.
TWENTY-SIX
Cait
I’d been at my job for over a week now, living in the new townhouse for just as long, and I was absolutely loving both. Seeing as Allie and I were both living out of single bags, moving hadn’t taken long at all, and although our lack of personal belongings meant the house was still fairly sparse, it was our own little place. The ‘new home’ look wouldn’t last long though, because Allie and I had a shopping spree planned for next Saturday to hit some of the second-hand stores and bargain malls. We’d have the place brightened up and homely in no time.
Work was awesome too. The team at the studio was quite small but very friendly. On my first day I found that Lisa from running club was actually one of the make-up artists and based within the same area as me.
I’d seen Mel around too, but she was a camera assistant, training up to be a full cameraman, so she spent most of her day out on the set. Luckily there was a studio social tomorrow night at the baseball batting cages and we were all going, so I’d get a chance to catch up with her then. I wasn’t convinced I’d be any good at hitting a baseball, but getting to know the girls more outside of work would be fun.
My direct manager was Di, the ‘Prop Master’. She was in charge of everything to do with the prop department. Considering she had such a hectic job, she was surprisingly jolly and laid back, and happily spent most of my first day showing me around and making sure I was well settled.
All in all it was going fabulously. Even better, and much to my relief, I’d not seen even a glimpse of Jack Felton either, so I hadn’t had to worry about what I would say to him.
My denial might be long gone, but avoidance was still top of my list and working out just fine for me so far. It seemed Allie had been right; the distance between the stages we worked on was enough to ensure we wouldn’t cross paths. This was exactly what I had hoped for, but even knowing that this was the best outcome, a tiny, crazy piece of me was almost starting to miss him. Which was so stupid that I really needed someone to slap some sense into me.
Drawing in a harsh breath in an attempt at clearing my head, I stood up to head back into work. Pausing outside the studio door, I turned my head towards the sun for a few last cheeky rays to finish off my coffee break. It warmed my skin, causing a blissful smile to pull at my lips and my body to relax. Today was another fabulous day, with clear, cloudless blue skies as far as I could see. A girl could get used to this type of weather, and luckily, I was that girl.
Stopping just inside the studio doors, I absorbed the buzzing atmosphere with a smile. I loved this job. Everything about it was perfect: the location, the divine weather, my friendly co-workers, and because I was working on a vampire drama, the props I was asked to make were not only challenging, but great fun too. On my very first day I’d had to make a demon hand glove with talons for nails and sharp little fangs on the palm, I mean, how crazy is that? It had turned out fabulously, and the actor I made it for was now taking great pleasure in freaking people out by wearing it off-set and shaking hands with poor unsuspecting victims. There had been more than one shriek of shock thanks to my artistry.
Today’s challenge had been a long one. The script involved a rogue vampire going on a feeding rampage, so I had spent the day working with the make-up department moulding and applying vampire bites to several necks. I only had a few more gruesome bite marks to make and apply, and then I was done for the day.
Unfortunately, the pleasurable start to my next shift evaporated seconds later as I walked down the corridor towards the locker room and got a strange, wary sensation in my stomach.
That was odd.
Immediately looking around, I tried to assess what could be setting off my defences, but nothing obvious jumped out at me. I was in the main corridor, so I could see the set ahead of me, the green room to my right, and locker room to my left. The studio had never made me nervous before. Yes, there were always lots of men around, but they had always seemed friendly, and the place was always crowded, so I’d never felt unduly worried. Right now though, my skin was tingling and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. What the heck was going on?
Swallowing loudly, I checked my watch and saw that I was going to be late if I dawdled for much longer, so I pulled in a deep breath and was about to take a step forward when a familiar voice caught my ear. A familiar, deep, raspy, exceptionally lovely voice …
Surely it couldn’t be …?
With my stomach dropping to my boots, I whipped my head to the right and saw none other than Jack bloody Felton standing at the coffee counter just inside the door of the green room, chatting amiably with a tall, suited man.
Instantly my body went into alert: muscles stiffening, mouth drying, and heart accelerating until I could feel it banging painfully against the back of my ribs.
Shit, shit, shit. I’d been preparing myself for the possibility of seeing him at some point in the future, but not today, and certainly not in my studio. In fact, what the hell was he doing here? I’d been here since six a.m. and hadn’t seen him earlier, that was for sure.
Much to my annoyance, my forehead was now all clammy, and my previously loose clothes suddenly felt distinctly sweaty and tight. How dare he just look so damn casual and put together when I was quickly being reduced to a dithering mess.
The locker room was just to my left so I crept towards its promise of escape
, hoping he wouldn’t glance my way. I must have looked ridiculous as I did an almost crab-like sideways walk along the corridor wall so I could keep one eye on him and one on my target destination, but luckily he was engrossed in his conversation and didn’t see me.
I had definitely seen him though, and against all my defences and instincts, there was just one word that spiralled around my mind as I watched him.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
Because wow, he really was such a good-looking man, and wow, did he make a mighty fine sight, and wow, was my avoidance plan totally useless.
His hair was ruffled and unruly today, making him look younger, and his faded grey jeans and black polo shirt accentuated how dark his hair and eyes were. My pathetic gazing wasn’t helped by the fact that he was wearing short sleeves, because his tanned, toned forearms did something to my stomach that I just couldn’t understand. It felt like it was suddenly twisted into a dozen knots and slithering around inside me.
I couldn’t believe he was here. Diving into the locker room, I let out a breath of relief and stashed my bag before staggering through to the toilets to lean on a sink. Giving myself a look in the mirror, I saw my earlier happiness was gone, and in its place a wretchedly confused expression was now haunting my features.
Splashing some cold water on my face I gave the elastic band around my wrist a good ol’ ping – just for luck – and then shook my head to dislodge my sinking mood. Allie had often worried that my elastic band pinging had something to do with self-harming, or masochism, but I’d quickly put a stop to her worries by explaining that it stopped me disassociating whenever I thought I was in danger – losing myself to memories was much more dangerous than a slight pain in my wrist. Although, come to think of it, maybe she was right about my masochism, because accepting the six month contract knowing full well that I might bump into Jack was basically the same as self-inflicted torture, wasn’t it?
I was such an idiot.
Like a true coward, I hid by the lockers for as long as humanly possible, and only when my watch told me I was seriously pushing it for time did I dare emerge from my hiding place. To my dismay, Jack was still just there, but he was now talking to the director of my show. Bugger. He was pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee too, as if he owned the bloody place.
Crap. Why didn’t he just bugger off? Avoiding him was really bloody difficult when he was less than ten feet away from me, that was for sure. There was no other way to get to the set either, so I didn’t have any choice but to pass him.
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I tutted at my own stupidity. All this fuss because of a man? I was pathetic. I gave myself a sharp talking to, straightened my back, drew in a breath for confidence, and then decided to just waltz straight past him.
I took two steps and the director shook Jack’s hand and turned away. ‘Right, five minute call, actors on set, please!’ he yelled in a cheerful tone as he chose that exact moment to wander away from Jack.
Well, wasn’t that just frigging marvellous? I saw that now Jack was free, his gaze had zeroed straight in on me as he smiled and gave me a tentative wave. Blimey, his eyes really were something else, seeming to drag my gaze to them and ensnare me.
Immediately, my mind filled with images of how gorgeous his eyes had looked when he’d gazed at me with a desire-drenched stare shortly after our knee-buckling kiss. That look had been pretty epic, and was burned into my brain for posterity. As had the feel of his soft lips and exploring tongue … Swallowing loudly, I had to forcibly push the dizzying images away and try to ignore the burning heat that had suddenly settled in my stomach.
My heart rate, which had already been abnormally high, suddenly shot right through the frigging roof and was pounding so fast I was amazed that I hadn’t passed out from it.
After our recent encounters, which ranged from highly sexual to completely fraught, I really wasn’t sure how to approach this. Should I wave back and stride down the corridor past him? Or should I talk to him? Would he mention my restaurant meltdown and giveaway nod? Or push me on the fact that I had clearly lied to him about both my job and my feelings?
Sighing heavily, I knew in my heart I couldn’t just ignore him. That would be rude. Besides, we were both adults, and we’d potentially have to see each other around from time to time, so it would be best to start things off on a polite but distant note. I needed to be friendly, but cool and professional, and above all else, I needed to make sure I didn’t lead him on with any more unsolicited nodding incidents.
Decision made, I crossed the space between us and gave a small, tight smile as I arrived at his side.
‘Caitlin, hi. Jason mentioned you had accepted the job.’ Yet another reminder of my stupid lie. But just when I thought Jack was going to call me out, he just carried on as if it had never happened. ‘How are you settling in?’
Polite, casual conversation. OK, that was good. I could do this. There had been no pitying looks or mentions of last week, and his respectful avoidance of it bolstered my courage. ‘Good, thanks, the work’s great, really exciting.’ Talking about work was actually easy, because I genuinely loved it here. Each day had provided a new challenge, and I was already proving to my co-workers that I knew what I was doing, and was good at it too.
Jack offered me the coffee he had just poured from the jug at the machine and even though I’d just had my break, I accepted it gladly, deciding that right now I needed to be as caffeinated and on the ball as possible.
‘Thanks.’ I took the drink and its promise of caffeine with a polite smile, and immediately took a large swig before my eyes almost burst from my head in shock. Holy moly, that was hot!
I instantly regretted being so hasty, and as my mouth struggled to deal with the scalding liquid, I very nearly spat it out all over Jack.
‘Careful … that will be hot,’ Jack murmured, trying, and failing, to suppress a humoured smile.
No? Really? I was now so flustered that I only just managed to refrain from throwing the bloody coffee all over him in annoyance. Instead, I dug deep down for my inner confidence and settled for reaching past him for the milk, adding a generous dollop to my coffee, and then completing the perfect beverage by adding a small helping of cold water.
I saw Jack raise his eyebrows in surprise. ‘Cold water? Is that a regular addition or just because you burnt your tongue?’
My cheeks heated, and my tongue gave a little throb to remind me that I had indeed just scalded it. ‘I used to be a teacher, and the breaks were never long enough to make a drink, wait for it to cool, and drink it, so I started to top my tea and coffee off with cold water – I guess the habit has just stuck.’
Looking slightly perplexed – perhaps because he was trying to add this new news to the list of my other oddities – Jack then nodded, and thankfully changed the subject. ‘So, how long is your contract?’
Taking a more cautious sip this time, I sighed in appreciation as the delicious coffee slid across my tongue and then answered his question determined not to lie any more. Not about work, anyway. If he asked me if I ‘liked him and felt it too’ again I wasn’t entirely sure how I’d respond.
‘I’m here for six months. This role is similar to something I’ve done before, so it felt like the perfect opportunity.’ As I spoke I had a brief flashback to the unexpected evening I’d spent with Jack at the bar exchanging travelling stories and tales of growing up. Blimey. That felt like so long ago now. So much seemed to have happened between us, which was kind of ironic seeing that nothing had actually changed or developed.
Just as I was wondering if Jack even remembered that night, he seemed to precisely read my thoughts. ‘I remember you telling me how much you had loved that job. The Sydney Opera House, right?’
For some reason, the fact that he had not only recollected our conversation, but the exact details of it, made a solid lump form in my throat and a little band develop around my heart. That was sweet. But Jack being sweet was really not something I should be focusing on.
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Remaining professional, cool, and calm. That’s what I needed to focus on. Clearing my throat, I smiled fondly as I recalled my time in Australia. ‘That’s right. This is proving just as challenging, which I love.’
I might have been smiling, but this situation really was no good at all. Just being in such close proximity to Jack was sending my much underused hormones into a spinning frenzy, I knew I was still blushing wildly, and my body was quickly slipping away from my own control.
Great, so this technically meant I’d gone from denial, straight through avoidance, and was now at the acceptance stage. Every nerve ending seemed to exulting in this fact and standing to attention while desperately trying to reach out to him, and I had to really keep myself in check not to do exactly that.
‘So, is this the set you’re based on?’ he enquired in a seemingly casual tone, but my more suspicious side couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to his interest than he was letting on.
Seeing how frequently we ‘bumped’ into each other, I really didn’t want him to know, and so a frown instantly settled on my brows. But what plausible reason could I give for avoiding his question? None I could think of.
In the end, I opted to delay myself with the age old tactic of giving a non-decisive ‘Ummm …’ while Jack merely continued to look at me with those penetrating brown eyes.
What if he suddenly decided to add my stage as a daily visit in his routine? Seeing him every day would kill me. Hmm. Given how quickly he’d managed to obtain my mobile number the other week, he’d probably have no problem finding out which set I was based on. In fact, he probably already did know. Besides, my appearance here already made it pretty obvious, didn’t it?
Reluctantly, I gave in and nodded. ‘Yes. I’m working on Dark Blood.’ I was quite pleased that at least my voice now sounded slightly calmer than I felt inside.
